A senior al-Qaeda leader has threatened to hit back at any party involved in attacks by US assassination drones in Yemen.

In a video posted online on Friday, Qasim al-Raymi accused the country’s security forces of planting tracking devices to help terror drones of the United States.

Raymi said his group would retaliate against "any establishment, ministry, camp or barracks."

The al-Qaeda threatened anyone “acting as an intermediary with the Americans," adding, "For us, all such establishments are legitimate targets. We won't wait for them to come to us -- we will go to them."

The US, which is the only country that has drones in the region, has launched numerous drone attacks in Yemen.

Washington claims it is targeting militants but witness reports and figures provided by local officials indicate that civilians are the main victims of the attacks.

The US has also come under fire for increasing its drone attacks in Yemen, where the people have held many demonstrations to condemn the violation of their national sovereignty.

Washington uses its assassination drones in Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Somalia, claiming that they target terrorists.

The impoverished Arabian Peninsula state faces a host of political troubles, including the Houthi-Salafi fighting, an al-Qaeda uprising, splits in the military and a southern separatist movement.

Observers fear further turmoil could create more space to operate for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), already seen as one of the most dangerous al-Qaeda branches after it plotted attacks on international airliners, in a country that sits alongside big oil shipping routes.